Financial Statements Discussion and Analysis 2021-22

Introduction

This Financial Statements Discussion and Analysis (FSD&A) should be read in conjunction with the Financial Statements of the Courts Administration Service (CAS) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. These Financial Statements have been prepared using the Government's accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards. The FSD&A has been prepared following the Public Sector Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP-1).

Responsibility for the preparation of the FSD&A rests with the management of CAS. The purpose of the FSD&A is to enhance the user’s understanding of the organization’s financial position and results of operations while demonstrating its accountability for its resources. Additional information on the organization’s performance is available in the Departmental Results Report.

Following this introduction, the FSD&A consists of three sections:

• Overview
• Highlights
• Discussion and Analysis

Please note that all financial information presented herein is denominated in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Special note regarding forward-looking statements

The words “estimate”, “will”, “intend”, “should”, “anticipate”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements that reflect assumptions and expectations of the organization, based on its experience and perceptions of trends and current conditions. Although CAS believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, they may prove inaccurate; consequently, actual results could differ materially from expectations set out in this FSD&A. In particular, the risk factors described in this report could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those contemplated in forward-looking statements.

Overview

CAS was established in 2003 by the Courts Administration Service Act, S.C. 2002, c. 8. CAS’s role is to provide effective and efficient judicial, registry, e-courts, court security and internal services to the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Tax Court of Canada (“the Courts”). The Chief Administrator of CAS serves as Deputy Head.

CAS was created to ensure the effective and efficient provision of administrative support to the four superior courts of record; to enhance judicial independence by placing administrative services at arm’s length from the Government of Canada and affirming the roles of the chief justices and judges in the management of the Courts; and to enhance accountability for the use of public money in support of court administration while safeguarding the independence of the judiciary. This ensures timely and fair access to the judicial system, which is essential to constitutional governance.

CAS’s budget is allocated through authorities approved by Parliament. CAS has one voted authority for program expenditures and statutory authorities for contributions to employee benefit plans, spending of proceeds from the disposal of surplus Crown assets, and refunds of amounts credited to revenues in previous years.

Since authorities are primarily based on cash flow requirements, authorities provided to CAS do not parallel financial reporting according to generally accepted accounting principles. Consequently, items recognized in the Statement of Financial Position and the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position are not necessarily the same as those provided through authorities from Parliament. Note 3 of the Financial Statements provides a reconciliation between the bases of reporting.

The Financial Statements of CAS have not been audited. A Statement of Management Responsibility, including Internal Control over Financial Reporting (ICFR), is provided by Management as part of the annual departmental financial statement publication.

Special note regarding COVID-19

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in governments worldwide enacting emergency measures to combat the spread of the virus. These measures, which include the implementation of travel bans, self-imposed quarantine periods and social distancing, have caused material disruption to businesses globally resulting in an economic slowdown. The duration and impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is unknown. As a result, it is not possible to reliably estimate the full length and severity of the impact on CAS’s financial position and future financial results.

CAS has assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CAS's internal controls over financial reporting and has not identified deficiencies that could have a material impact on its financial statements.

Highlights

Parliamentary Authorities

The parliamentary authorities available for use by CAS include funding received through the Main Estimates, Supplementary Estimates, Transfers, Adjustments and Warrants. These authorities decreased by $848 thousand, from $112,143 thousand in 2020-21 to $111,295 thousand in 2021-22. This variance is the result of several factors, as outlined below.

The decrease in authorities is largely due a decrease of $2,600 thousand in program integrity funding, $2,219 thousand in compensation for collective bargaining, and $1,674 thousand in funding to support the delivery of justice for leasehold improvement projects. The decrease also includes $585 thousand in contributions to employee benefit plans and $378 thousand for the Courts and Registry Management System (CRMS). This decrease is partially offset by funding increases of $2,995 thousand to enhance the capacity of Superior courts, $2,530 thousand for Restarting the Court System and Supporting Access to Justice (COVID), $602 thousand in the operating budget carry-forward, $354 thousand to enhance the integrity of Canada’s Borders and Asylum System and $127 thousand in other minor changes.

In 2021-22, the total available authorities were $111,295 thousand, of which $91,602 thousand was used in the current year. This resulted in a lapse of $10,922 thousand. This lapse is mostly due to $4,432 thousand of reprofiled funding, of which $3,843 thousand relates to COVID-19 funding and $635 thousand relates to the CRMS project. The lapse also includes frozen allotments of $2,407 thousand, of which 1,800 thousand relates to the Toronto expansion and $607 thousand relates to the Procedural Fairness in citizenship revocation. The remaining lapse of $4,003 thousand represents 3.6% of the total available authorities, which is considered to be within normal range.

Financial Highlights

Statement of Financial Position

The Departmental Net Financial Position is the amount remaining when total liabilities are deducted from total assets. CAS’s Departmental Net Financial Position was $24,641 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($20,476 thousand as of March 31, 2021).

Financial assets: The total net financial assets amounted to $to $19,847 thousand at March 31, 2022 ($17,501 thousand at March 31, 2021).

Non-financial assets: The total non-financial assets amounted to $29,165 thousand at March 31, 2022 ($27,516 thousand at March 31, 2021).

Significant variations are provided further in the Financial Analysis section.

Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position

CAS’s net cost of operations before government funding and transfers was $130,921 thousand in 2021-22, a decrease of $1,722 thousand (-1%) compared to $132,643 thousand in 2020-21. These figures represent the total expenses incurred and revenues earned on behalf of Government. The decrease in total expenses is mainly due to decreases in employee salaries and benefits, as well as materials and supplies, and machinery and equipment, which are explained further in the next section.

Expenses: CAS’s total expenses were $130,921 thousand in 2021-22 ($132,648 thousand in 2020-21).

Salary and employee benefits: Salary and employee benefit expenses amounted to $74,191 thousand ($79,496 thousand in 2020-21), a decrease of $5,305 thousand (-7%). The decrease in personnel expenditures were principally driven by a decrease of $4,386 thousand in salaries and wages, due to the payment in 2020-21 of retroactive pay resulting from the signature of the new collective agreements. The remaining decrease includes a decrease of $585 thousand in employer contributions to employee benefit plans, a decrease of $444 thousand in provision for severance benefits, and partly offset by an increase of $110 thousand in employer contribution to the health and dental insurance plans.

Operating: Operating expenses totalled $56,730 thousand ($53,152 thousand in 2020-21). The increase of $3,578 thousand (7%) is mainly attributable to an increase of $1,505 thousand in miscellaneous operating expenses resulting from the inventory consumption adjustment and the recognition of prepaid expenses. The variance is also explained by the increase of $937 thousand in professional and special services, $780 thousand in accommodation, $768 thousand in transportation and telecommunications, $488 thousand in amortization of tangible capital assets, $133 thousand in information, $82 thousand in repairs and maintenance and $58 thousand in rentals. These increases were partly offset by a decrease in $683 thousand in materials and supplies and $490 thousand in machinery and equipment.

Revenues: The majority of CAS’s revenues are earned on behalf of Government. Such revenues are non-respendable, meaning that they cannot be used by CAS, and are deposited directly into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). CAS earns a small amount of respendable revenue from the sale of Crown assets. CAS’s gross revenues were $2,398 thousand ($1,928 thousand in 2020-21), and net revenues were $0 thousand ($5 thousand in 2020-21).

Discussion and Analysis

Risks and Uncertainties

Funding

The majority of non-personnel expenses incurred by CAS are contracted costs for services supporting the judicial process, court hearings, court security and e-courts. These costs include translation services, protection services, informatics services, court reporters, transcripts, deputy judges, court ushers and court facility rentals. These costs are mostly driven by the volume, type and duration of hearings conducted in any given year, which are non-discretionary and can limit the organization's financial flexibility.

Following consultations with the industry and refinement of the Courts and Registry Management System (CRMS) project, new risks were identified regarding the feasibility to continue as planned with the initial scope and approach of the CRMS project. In order to attenuate these risks, CAS is closing the existing project to focus on strengthening the foundations. CAS will start by increasing internal capacity within the digital transformation team, confirm the approach and scope through a new definition phase and than move ahead with the implementation phase. Network infrastructure enhancements were also undertaken to modernize digital services and prepare for the new CRMS.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in governments worldwide enacting emergency measures to combat the spread of the virus. During the year, CAS supported the Courts in providing critical services and addressing backlogs as applicable. Given that measures to combat the spread of the virus, including hybrid/virtual proceedings and other investments to better support the Courts (e-filing, digital documents, online services), are expected to continue for the foreseeable future, CAS has identified the need for ongoing funding beyond 2021-22 to support the new ways to conduct proceedings and support the Courts. In addition, the pandemic resulted in other operational challenges such as staff shortages, longer delays within the supply chain and significant increases in costs due to inflation and or unavailability of specific equipment. The operational and financial impacts of these operational challenges are monitored closely to mitigate the risks. The duration and global impact of the COVID-19 outbreak are unknown at this time.

CAS continues to address the risks to its program integrity, including baselining budgets, establishment of multi-year budgets, reorganizing and realigning services, reallocating resources, and regular reassessment of priorities, exploring alternate funding models while seeking efficiencies wherever possible. CAS has developed an efficient Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process, which includes management participation at the organization’s highest levels. The ERM process allows management to identify, evaluate and mitigate key risks to achieving its mandate and organizational priorities, and drives resource allocation accordingly.

Financial Analysis

The following analysis describes the main items appearing on the financial statements, as well as significant variances.

Liabilities

Summary: CAS’s total liabilities were $24,371 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($24,541 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The variance of $170 thousand is due to decreases in the accounts payable and accrued liabilities, vacation pay and compensatory leave and employee future benefits. The decreases were partly offset by an increase in deposit accounts.

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities: CAS’s accounts payable and accrued liabilities totalled $11,358 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($11,612 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The variance of $254 thousand is due to a decrease of $1,743 thousand in accounts payable to other government departments and agencies, primarily related to common service delivery, and $219 thousand in accrued liabilities mostly due to the timing of the last pay period of the year (salary accrued). The decreases were partially offset by an increase of $1,708 thousand in accounts payable to external parties.

Vacation pay and compensatory leave: CAS’s vacation pay and compensatory leave year-end balances were $4,414 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($4,760 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The decrease of $346 thousand in line with Treasury Board Secretariat’s decision to lift the moratorium on the automatic cash-out of vacation and compensatory leave effective on March 31, 2022. Therefore, there was a payable at year-end recognized for 20% of the excess vacation leave balances, combined with employees being encouraged to use their vacation balances in order to avoid the automatic cash-out of excess leave balances.

Deposit accounts: CAS’s deposit accounts amounted to $7,013 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($6,073 thousand as of March 31, 2021). CAS maintains two Specified Purpose Accounts (SPAs), one for deposits by litigants appearing before the Federal Court of Appeal or the Federal Court, and the other for those appearing before the Tax Court of Canada. These two accounts were established pursuant to Section 21.1 of the Financial Administration Act under Order in Council P.C. 1970 4/2 and Order in Council P.C. 1970-300, respectively. Pursuant to an order of the Court, amounts are held in trust and eventually released with accrued interest. Because payments into or out of the accounts are determined by the Courts, depending on the particular case, the balance is unpredictable and may vary from year to year.

Employee future benefits: CAS’s employee future benefits balance was $1,586 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($2,096 thousand as at March 31, 2021). This liability is the allowance for severance benefits payable to employees. The $510 thousand decrease in the employee future benefits liability is mainly caused by the decrease in the annual gross payroll and a rate reduction of 0.64% (from 3.95% to 3.31%).

Assets

Summary: CAS’s assets are presented as financial assets (amount due from the CRF account, and accounts receivable and advances) and non-financial assets (prepaid expenses, inventory and tangible capital assets).

Financial assets

Total net financial assets: The net financial assets represent the gross financial assets net of the accounts receivable and advances held on behalf of Government. The increase of $2,346 thousand between the total net financial assets of $19,847 thousand as of March 31, 2022 and $17,501 thousand as of March 31, 2021 is explained as follows:

• Gross financial assets: The gross financial assets is composed of the due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and the total accounts receivable and advances. The year-end balance of the gross financial assets was $20,713 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($18,519 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The variance of $2,194 thousand is due to an increase of $1,555 thousand in the total accounts receivable and advances and $639 thousand in the amount due from the CRF.
• Accounts receivable and advances held on behalf of Government: The accounts receivable from non-respendable revenues in the amount of $866 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($1,018 thousand as of March 31, 2021) are not available to discharge liabilities and therefore are presented under financial assets held on behalf of Government as a reduction to the gross financial assets. The variance represents a decrease of $152 thousand.

Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund: CAS’s due from the CRF year-end balance was $16,545 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($15,906 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The increase of $639 thousand is mainly due to a $940 thousand increase in deposit accounts and a $147 thousand decrease in accounts receivable from other government departments, offset by a $426 thousand decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities, and a $22 thousand increase in loans and advances to employees.

The due from the CRF account represents the net amount of cash that CAS is entitled to withdraw from the CRF in order to discharge its liabilities without generating any additional charges against its authorities in the year of the withdrawal. This includes expenses incurred but not yet paid and amounts received by CAS that will be paid out in future years, offset by accounts receivable from other government departments and agencies.

Accounts receivable and advances: CAS’s accounts receivable and advances balance was $4,168 thousand as of March 31, 2022 ($2,613 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The key components are accounts receivable from other government departments and agencies, accounts receivable from external parties, and employee advances offset by the allowance for doubtful accounts.

• Accounts receivable from other government departments and agencies: The year-end balance was $3,495 thousand ($1,907 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The increase of $1,588 thousand is largely due to a $1,737 thousand increase in recoverable amounts related to taxes (GST/HST/QST) resulting from the timing of recoveries, offset by a $149 thousand decrease in receivables related to salary recoveries and the Employment Insurance account.
• Accounts receivable from external parties: The year-end balance was $636 thousand ($691 thousand as of March 31, 2021). It includes courtroom fees charged to litigants, as well as employees’ salaries overpayments and other adjustments. The decrease of $55 thousand is due to a decrease of $60 thousand in salary recoveries from employees (Phoenix issues), offset by $5 thousand increase in other recoveries.
• Employee Advances: The year-end balance was $47 thousand ($25 thousand as of March 31, 2021), and is mostly attributable to the situation with the Phoenix pay system.
• Allowance for doubtful accounts: The year-end balance was $10 thousand ($10 thousand as of March 31, 2021). Over the years, CAS has been diligently reviewing and pursuing outstanding accounts receivable.

Financial assets held on behalf of Government: Accounts receivable from non-respendable revenues are presented under financial assets held on behalf of Government in the reduction of the gross financial assets. The year-end balance was $866 thousand ($1,018 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The $152 thousand decrease is mainly due to a decrease in the accounts receivable from other government departments.

Departmental Net Debt

The Departmental Net Debt (total liabilities less total net financial assets) is an indicator that provides a measure of the future authorities required to pay for past transactions and events. The year-end balance was $4,524 thousand ($7,040 thousand as of March 31, 2021).

Non-financial Assets

Summary: The year-end balance was $29,165 thousand ($27,516 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The increase of $1,649 thousand is due to an increase of $1,996 thousand in tangible capital assets, offset by a decrease of $242 thousand in inventories and $105 thousand in prepaid expenses.

Total tangible capital asset acquisitions were $7,016 thousand. Leasehold improvements account for 51%, computer hardware and software account for 21%, machinery and equipment account for 8%, furniture and fixtures account for 3% and vehicles for 1% of CAS’s tangible capital assets, respectively. Together, these categories account for 84% of CAS’s tangible capital assets. Assets under construction – computer software of $1,689 thousand and assets under construction other of $2,717 thousand – represent 16% of CAS’s tangible capital assets.

Tangible capital assets: As of March 31, 2022, CAS’s net book value of tangible capital assets was $27,406 thousand ($25,410 thousand as of March 31, 2021). The variance of $1,996 thousand represents acquisitions of $7,016 thousand, offset by amortization of $4,812 thousand, other adjustments of $208 thousand, and net disposals and write-off of $0 thousand.

CAS’s capital asset acquisitions of $7,016 thousand ($9,116 thousand in 2020-21) were largely driven by projects related to informatics, e-courtroom purchases and installation of informatics equipment and facilities renovation projects:

• IT hardware upgrades ($2,761 thousand) are mainly related to IT equipment required to support remote work and virtual court proceedings (e.g. servers, firewall, switches, laptops);
• Other work under construction ($3,402 thousand) are mainly related to facilities renovations and modernizing of the courtrooms;
• Software upgrades and improvements ($82 thousand) as well as software assets under construction ($649 thousand), include purchase of software and projects to develop and enhance in-house applications (e.g. e-filing, court case management software);
• Purchases of furniture and fixtures ($59 thousand) are mainly furniture for the for National Capital Region and for region courtrooms and offices; and
• Machinery and equipment purchases ($52 thousand) are for air conditioning units for the server rooms.

* Note: The category “Assets under construction – Other” includes all assets under construction except for the Computer software. The majority of these represent leasehold improvements that are not yet completed and put into service.

Expenses

CAS’s total expenses were $130,921 thousand in 2021-22 ($132,648 thousand in 2020-21). The decrease of $1,727 thousand (-1%) is comprised of decreases of $5,305 thousand in salaries and employee benefits, $683 thousand in materials and supplies, and $490 thousand in machinery and equipment. These decreases were partly offset by increases of $1,505 thousand in miscellaneous expenses, $937 thousand in professional and special services, $780 thousand in accommodation, $768 thousand in transportation and telecommunications, $488 thousand in amortization of tangible capital assets, $133 thousand in information, $82 thousand in repairs and maintenance and $58 thousand in rentals. The variances are explained below.

The largest categories of expenses are salaries and employee benefits (57% of total expenses in 2021-22, 60% in 2020-21), and accommodations (22% of total expenses in 2021-22, 21% in 2020-21). These two categories make up 79% of total expenses in the fiscal year 2021-22 and 81% in 2020-21.

Salaries and employee benefits: Salaries and employee benefits expense was $74,191 thousand in 2021-22 ($79,496 thousand in 2020-21). These costs represent gross salaries and wages, overtime pay, retroactive salary adjustments, employee entitlements and allowances, severance pay, and pension and medical benefits. The decrease of $5,305 thousand (-7%) variance is mainly due to a decrease of $3,052 in retroactive pay, in line with the signature of the new collective agreements in 2020-21. Other decreases included $1,741 thousand in allowance for compensatory and vacation pay, $899 thousand in payment of Phoenix damages, $585 thousand in employer contributions to employee benefit plans, $395 thousand in severance pay and other minor variances totalling $156 thousand. This decrease was offset by an increase in regular salaries of $1,523 thousand.

Accommodations: Accommodation expense was $28,221 thousand in 2021-22 ($27,441 thousand in 2020-21). This amount represents the value of accommodation services, including rent, provided without charge by Public Services and Procurement Canada, a common service organization providing accommodation services to the Government.

Professional and special services: Professional and special services expense was $10,789 thousand in 2021-22 ($9,852 thousand in 2020-21). These costs include translation services, protection services, IT services, court reporter and transcription services, deputy judges and training services. The increase of $937 thousand (10%) is mainly due to an increase of $565 thousand in protection services, $438 thousand in management consulting and $198 in other services. This increase was partly offset by a decrease of $137 thousand in business services and various other minor changes resulting in a decrease of $127 thousand. The overall increase in professional and special services in 2021-22 is in line with the return to the pre-pandemic operational requirements, mostly in protection services.

Transportation and telecommunications: Transportation and telecommunications expense was $2,686 thousand in 2021-22 ($1,918 thousand in 2020-21). The increase of $768 thousand (40%) is mainly driven by an increase of $368 thousand in postage & freight, $267 thousand for telecommunication services and $143 in travel, partly offset by a decrease of $10 thousand in relocation. The variances are primarily due to COVID-19 restrictions, which reduced travel expenses and shipping associated with itinerant hearings in 2020-21. Remote work arrangements contributed to an increase in telecommunication expenses.

Materials and supplies: Materials and supplies expense was $3,237 thousand in 2021-22 ($3,920 thousand in 2020- 21). This includes legal books, publications and subscriptions (except electronic subscriptions), toner as well as stationery and supplies. The decrease of $683 thousand (-17%) is mainly due to a decrease of $799 thousand in miscellaneous and chemical products, in line with the decrease in personal protection equipment and acrylic shields. This decrease was offset by an increase of $107 thousand in books, publications and subscriptions, $5 thousand in mineral products (gasoline), $2 thousand in personal goods (robes, uniforms) and $2 thousand in other smaller supplies.

Rentals: Rentals expense was $3,165 thousand in 2021-22 ($3,107 thousand in 2021-22). The increase of $58 thousand (2%) is primarily due to an increase of $257 thousand in IT licenses and maintenance fees and $12 thousand of other rentals. This increase is partly offset by a decrease of $211 thousand in the rental of office buildings, mainly due to a one-time additional fee charged in 2020-21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amortization of tangible capital assets: Amortization expense was $4,812 thousand in 2021-22 ($4,324 thousand in 2020-21). Tangible capital assets are expected to yield benefits over several years. Consequently, their cost is amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of each asset class. The increase of $488 thousand (11%) is due to an increase of $419 thousand related to leasehold improvements, $73 thousand for IT hardware assets, $11 thousand for machinery and equipment and $5 thousand for furniture and fixtures. This increase is partly offset by a decrease of $19 thousand related to IT software and $1 thousand related to vehicles.

Machinery and equipment: Machinery and equipment expenses were $870 thousand in 2021-22 ($1,360 thousand in 2020-21). This includes purchases of assets with a cost less than $10 thousand, such as computer equipment, parts and software, office equipment, furniture, and motor vehicle parts. The decrease of $490 thousand (-36%) is mainly due to a decrease of $276 thousand in office furniture and furnishing, $194 thousand in computer equipment, parts and software, and $19 thousand in other small equipment.

Repairs and Maintenance: Repairs and maintenance expense was $584 thousand in 2021-22 ($502 thousand in 2020-21). The increase of $82 thousand (16%) is mostly due to an increase of $49 thousand in the maintenance of machinery and equipment and $33 thousand in repairs and maintenance of buildings.

Information: Information expense was $609 thousand in 2021-22 ($476 thousand in 2020-21). The increase of $133 thousand (28%) is due to an increase of $47 thousand in printing services, $37 thousand in publishing services, $27 thousand in electronic subscriptions and $22 thousand in communications professional services.

Miscellaneous: Miscellaneous expense was $1,756 thousand in 2021-22 ($251 thousand in 2020-21). The increase of $1,505 thousand (600%) is mostly due to the $694 thousand adjustment for inventory consumption, mainly due to the usage of COVID-19 personal protective supplies in 2021-22, and $667 thousand in recognition of prepaid expenses, in line with increase of multi-year IT licenses. The remaining variance is explained by an increase of $166 thousand in reallocation of capital assets under construction to expense, partly offset by a decrease of $22 thousand in other miscellaneous expenses.

Revenues

CAS’s gross revenues were $2,398 thousand in 2021-22 ($1,928 thousand in 2020-21). CAS’s revenues may fluctuate widely from year-to-year and consist almost entirely of revenues earned on behalf of the Government. Such revenues are non-respendable by CAS and are deposited directly into the CRF. In 2021-22, these non-respendable revenues totalled $2,398 thousand ($1,923 thousand in 2020-21).

CAS’s net revenues were $0 thousand in 2021-22 ($5 thousand in 2020-21). This consists of revenues from the disposal of Crown assets, which are respendable.

Filing fees: Filing fees revenue was $1,502 thousand in 2021-22 ($897 thousand in 2020-21). Filing fees are charged to register court documents pursuant to the legislation and rules governing the Courts. In the context of COVID-19, there were fewer court proceedings.

Recovery of administration costs – Employment Insurance: Recovery of administration costs for Employment Insurance (EI) was $838 thousand in 2021-22 ($1,012 thousand in 2020-21). At the end of each fiscal year, CAS determines the cost associated with the administration of EI cases for presentation by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the department responsible for the EI account. Accordingly, ESDC reports an expense in its financial statements, and CAS reports an equivalent revenue item. This accounting exercise is intended to reflect the total cost of running the federal government's EI program.

Fines: Fines revenue was $51 thousand in 2021-22 ($0 thousand in 2020-21). As noted previously, these fines are imposed by the Courts. Consequently, the total amount of fine revenue may vary significantly from year to year and cannot be predicted.

Miscellaneous: Miscellaneous revenue was $7 thousand in 2021-22 ($19 thousand in 2020-21). Miscellaneous revenue is mainly composed of photocopy revenue.